armed conflict
Nations exchanging fire
Armed conflict is warfare or sustained fighting between organized groups, typically nations or factions within a nation.
The term appears frequently in legal, diplomatic, and humanitarian contexts where war might seem too blunt or politically charged: International law governs the treatment of civilians in armed conflict.
It encompasses everything from full-scale wars to prolonged insurgencies.
Violent disagreement or collision
- skirmishBrief, limited combat
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- assaultViolent offensive act
siege · raid · ambush · firefight · offensive · counterattack · sortie · encounter
Organized effort toward goal
- strategyPlanned approach to goals
- tacticsMethods to achieve goals
- maneuverDeliberate tactical movement
- operationProcess of working
invasion · occupation · guerrilla · insurgency · counterinsurgency · attrition · frontline · theater
Killing and wounding
- brutalitySavage, merciless behavior
- destructionAct of completely ruining
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
- atrocityUnforgivable mass cruelty
carnage · massacre · slaughter · killing · death toll · casualties · trauma · suffering
Organized land-based military
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
- soldiersMilitary personnel who fight
- infantryGround combat troops
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
militia · brigade · battalion · platoon · regiment · division · squadron · special forces
Pushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- provocationAct that triggers response
- deterrencePrevention via threatened consequences
- sanctionsPunitive international restrictions
- embargoOfficial prohibition on trade
ultimatum · threat · hostility · aggression · rivalry · crisis · standoff · Cold War
clash
Violent disagreement or collision
- skirmishBrief, limited combat
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
- combatArmed hostile engagement
assault · siege · raid · ambush · firefight · offensive · counterattack · sortie · encounter · action
campaign
Organized effort toward goal
- strategyPlanned approach to goals
- tacticsMethods to achieve goals
- maneuverDeliberate tactical movement
operation · invasion · occupation · guerrilla · insurgency · counterinsurgency · attrition · frontline · theater · logistics
bloodshed
Killing and wounding
- brutalitySavage, merciless behavior
- destructionAct of completely ruining
- devastationSevere widespread destruction
atrocity · carnage · massacre · slaughter · killing · death toll · casualties · trauma · suffering · displacement
army
Organized land-based military
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
- soldiersMilitary personnel who fight
- infantryGround combat troops
artillery · militia · brigade · battalion · platoon · regiment · division · squadron · special forces · commando
brinkmanship
Pushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- provocationAct that triggers response
- deterrencePrevention via threatened consequences
- sanctionsPunitive international restrictions
embargo · ultimatum · threat · hostility · aggression · rivalry · crisis · standoff · Cold War · arms race
- conflictclash, fight, war, battle, dispute
- warfarebattle, combat, attack, war, military strategy
- ColombiaBogota, Medellin, Cali, Colombian flag, Colombian coffee
- combatbattle, fight, combat, grappling, close combat
- War Ethicsjust war, rules of war, rules of engagement, Geneva Conventions, Geneva Convention
- hostilityanimosity, hostility, antagonism, belligerence, malice
armed conflictdiplomacy
Negotiation between nations
diplomatic resolution · negotiation · peaceful resolution · dialogue · mediation
armed conflictpeace
Freedom from disturbance
peaceful coexistence · harmony · alliance · cooperation · amity
conflict, armed, disarm, conflicting, unarmed, conflicted, armory, arming, conflicts